During the decline of the Roman Empire in the second half of the 3rd century AD, the Basque tribes began a process of reinforcement and fusion that allowed them a better communication between the different Basque-speaking areas, as well as a solid political autonomy from the Imperial administration. This autonomy and cohesion of the Basque population grew stronger at the beginning of the Germanic invasions since the year 400, in which the Basques joined together under the leadership of the Vascones from Navarre. Their purpose was none other than to defend the Roman way of life and its institutions against what they considered German barbarians. Thus, if the weakening of the Roman power had allowed the strengthening of the Basque internal cohesion, the arrival of the Visigoths took already place before a Basque community sufficiently compact with an expanding economy.

The fact that the Roman chronicles speak of the different Basque tribes and the Frankish-Visigothic chronicles talk only about the Vascones as a whole, indicate us that this tribe, whose original core was located in Navarre, was the one that led and assimilated the other tribes. This process of unification gave rise to the emergence of Common Euskara (standardisation into a single language of the different dialects spoken by each one of the tribes), as well as the definitive expansion of the terms 'Euskal Herria', as the name with which all the Basques will denominate their land, and 'euskaldun' (Basque), with which they will refer themselves.

Apogee of the Basque-Aquitanian alliance. Western Europe in AD 711, before the Arab invasion of the Iberian peninsula

The Franks defeated the Visigoths in 507 at the battle of Vouillé, what caused the inevitable lost of Aquitaine and Novempopulania up to the Pyrenean barrier. Although the date for the Vascon expansion in Aquitaine is traditionally set in the year 587, it is probably that their settlements were previously established, taking advantage of the power vacuum generated by the weak control that the Franks had over Aquitaine.

We cannot speak of a Vascon conquest of those lands, but a pacific redistribution of the Vascon population in the lands of the other side of the Pyrenees, who were culturally similar. This fact is supported by the archaeological findings from Aldaieta and Buzaga. The redistribution of Vascon population was caused by the Visigothic incursions into the south of the Basque lands.

The Vascon settlement was not resisted by the Romani Aquitanians (Romanised Aquitanians) of the big cities, nor by the ones of small towns and villages, who kept speaking Euskara. Aquitanians and Vascones shared the same enemies, Franks and Visigoths that sought the control over their lands. The only resistance to the Vascon establishment in Aquitaine was shown by the Franks, as this reinforced a population which was against to their dominion over the whole region.

After the year 587 and the failure of Duke Austrowald, who tried to fight them without success, both parts came to an agreement on the pacific establishment of the Vascon population in the plains of Aquitaine. The Vascones would pay their taxes, but the territory that they inhabited would become a duchy, which could be governed according to their own rules. This way, the Duchy of Vasconia (14) (Euskal Herriko Dukerria) was born: a virtually independent duchy, although under a 'dux' (a duke, with his corresponding partners and entourage) that was designated by the Merovingian court. Once the Vascones were established there, they would keep their customs and language. As they settled in a geographically homogeneous region, this would allow the constitution of a state within another state. Ruins of the Roman city of Iruña-Veleia (Álava). It continued to be an important city during the Frankish-Visigothic ageThe historical capital of Vasconia, Pamplona, will lose this status for the benefit of Elusa (the current Éauze, France), a city that was less exposed to invaders. It seems that during these years, the humble levels of the Aquitanian population, concretely the less Romanised ones, experienced an intense process of Basquisation, while the most Romanised levels gave rise to the Gascon people of Romance speech (15). Over the centuries, while Gascon spread through the northern Basque Country of that age, which expanded to the Garonne river (middle area of current France), Euskara would gradually lose speakers.

(14) Wasconia: the Latin toponym Vasconia was often written as Wasconia at that time. Later, it would evolve to Guasconia and then, Gasconia. The current terms Gaskonia (Euskara), Gasconha (Gascon), Gascoigne (French) Gascuña (Castilian/Spanish) and Gascony (English) derive from the last term of the above-mentioned evolution.

Linguistic extension of Gascon. Click on the map to enlarge

 

(15) Gascon (Occitan phonetic adaptation of the term Vascon): it is the Basque-Occitan dialect of southwest France that arose through the Romanisation of the Basque-speaking population that inhabited the former Aquitaine since pre-Roman times.

Some linguists consider Gascon as an independent language, due to its notable differences in respect of the rest of the Occitan dialects given the influence of Euskara in its linguistic evolution. In fact, in the Middle Ages, the Occitans themselves already considered Gascon a foreign language, a different language from theirs.

 

 

The phonetic features of Gascon are described in the table below:

a) The Latin /f/ evolves to /h/ by influence of the Basque phonetics:

 

Occitan
Gascon
Spanish
English
Fort
Hort
Fuerte
Strong
Futur
Hutur
Futuro
Future

 

This evolution can also be found in Spanish and in Euskara:

 

Old Southern Castilian
Castilian of Burgos
English
Facer
Hacer
To do
Forno
Horno
Oven
 
Latin
Euskara
Spanish
English
Fundus
Hondo
Fondo
Deep
Fornitura
Hornidura
Abastecimiento
Supply

 

While the aspirated /h/ is still pronounced in Gascon, the sound is almost lost and it is silent in Castilian. At the present time, it has been preserved in a few words and many times, it has already evolved to the sound /x/ (sound /j/ in Spanish), where it is used in some words of the southern dialects of Spain, in America or in vulgar expressions.

b) Prothetic vowel before r-:

 

Occitan
Gascon
Spanish
English
Riu
Arriu
Río
River
Romanica
Arromanica
Románica
Romanesque

 

This also happens in Spanish and Euskara:

 

Italian
Spanish
English
Ruga
Arruga
Wrinkle
Rancare
Arrancar
To pull
 
Latin
Euskara
Spanish
English
Rarus
Arraro
Raro
Rare
Regem
Errege
Rey
King

 

c) Falling of -ll- between vowels > r, which can come closer to Basque -l- or -n- > -r-:

 

Occitan
Gascon
Spanish
English
Aquella
Aquera
Aquella
Those
De la
Dera
De la
Of the...
 
Latín
Euskara
Spanish
English
Cælum
Zeru
Cielo
Sky
Animam
Arima
Alma
Soul

 

d) Lost of the /n/ between vowels, as it happens in Euskara or in Galician:

 

Occitan
Gascon
Spanish
English
Luna
Lua
Luna
Moon
Laguna
Lagua
Laguna
Small lake
 
Latin
Euskara
Spanish
English
Catenam
Katea
Cadena
Chain
Coronam
Koroa
Corona
Crown

 

e) Conversion of the Latin /v/ to /b/, opposition between /r/ and /rr/, the same as in Castilian and in the rest of the languages that are spoken in the region that the ancient Franco-Cantabrian civilization covered in the past.

The Occitan dialects. Click on the map to enlargeThroughout the Middle Ages, there were many Gascon speakers that settled in Guipúzcoa and Navarre, due to the close relationship between the Kingdom of Navarre and Gascony (this territory belonged to the Kingdom of Pamplona-Nájera in the 11th century and later, some areas of it were integrated into the Navarrese crown). That settlement left us many toponyms of Gascon origin in both southern territories: the mount Urgull (it means 'pride' in Gascon) or Miramón (Miramont) in San Sebastián. Mondragón (Montdragon), Pasajes (Passages), Segura, Villafranca (Vilafranca), Villabona (Vilabona). The term 'Donostia' (San Sebastián) itself is a Basque adaptation of the name of this saint in Gascon. This language was the one that belatedly replaced the Castilian language in drafting the official documents of the Kingdom of Navarre until this realm disappeared. Gascon is no longer spoken in the peninsular Basque Country since the beginning of the 20th century, specifically in Pasajes (Guipúzcoa), which was the last city with speakers of this language. Regarding the northern Basque Country, Gascon is currently spoken in the northern tip of the Labourd's coast, in the city of Bastida (Lower Navarre) and in border towns of Zuberoa (Soule) with Béarn. Coming back to the Iberian peninsula, it is spoken in Aran Valley (note that the term valley is said 'haran' in current Euskara), where it is possible to hear the Aranese variant of this dialect. Gascon was the speech that gradually replaced Euskara in this territory since the 12th-13th centuries.

In the year 602, the expedition carried out by Theudebert II, king of Austrasia and Theuderic II, king of Burgundy against the Vascones led to the imposition of Genial as 'dux' (duke). In 626, the Vascones rebelled against Dux Aeghyna, successor of Genial. The Frankish authority was strengthened with the arrival of Dagobert I in 629. The Vascones, after suffering serious setbacks, resisted to be subjected for some time (635). Despite the Frankish will of returning to Augustus's borders and rebuilding the kingdom of Euric, they could not oppose to the dismemberment of their territory after the death of the 'good king'. With the arrival of the rois fainéants (the lazy kings), the lack of power would let Vasconia resume its autonomy, where the new leaders would lean on a secular feudalism and, above all, on the episcopate.

The Merovingian monarchy experienced a progressive weakening after the death of Dagobert I (638), of which the Aquitanians took advantage in order to gradually consolidate a political power that soon came to operate outside the control of the Frankish kings. This process, as a result of a clear understanding between the ambitions of the local Aquitanian aristocracy and the Vascon groups that were used as a military force at their service, will be slow, but unstoppable. The Basque-Aquitanian alliance will involve the fact that the Duchy of Vasconia and the Duchy of Aquitaine would be ruled by a single dux, who would join both forces, the Romani Aquitanians and the Vascones against Franks and Visigoths. The different dux that ruled Aquitaine and Vasconia were both of Vascon and Aquitanian origin.

The mayor of the palace of Neustria, Ebroin, with the purpose of keeping the southern territories of the Frankish realm under control, granted Felix the patriciate of all the cities up to the Pyrenees and the Vascon people, what he used to generate a Basque-Aquitanian political power outside the Frankish government. His successor, Lupo [the name is a latinisation of the Basque name Otsoa ('the wolf')] would qualitatively accelerate this process, openly facing the Franks and supporting the rebellion in Septimania (northeastern territory of the Visigothic kingdom) against Wamba, in order to conquer Cantabria (a territory that belonged to the Visigoths at that time) to the southwest of Vasconia. This unstoppable process would be consolidated even more clearly under Lupo successor, Odo. The Basque-Aquitanian principality of Odo became an example to the whole Gaul, and the sole arbiter of the conflict between Austrasia and Neustria, what meant the recognition of its independence and the status of 'regnum' (kingdom). By means of the Vascon army, the spearhead of the Basque-Aquitanian principality, Odo extended his influence to the Loire (718). During its greatest expansion, the principality covered a vast territory on both sides of the Pyrenees, which extended from the Loire (near Brittany) to the Ebro, to west up to Cantabria and to east up to Girona. Therefore, it covered a large part of the current French state.

The Vascon Star and the CrescentThe Vascon Star and the Crescent: the eight-pointed star as well as the inverted crescent represent two of the oldest Vascon symbols that have been preserved to the present. Besides its presence in family and city heraldry of the whole Basque Country, such as the Vascon Star in the coats of arms of Estella (Navarre) or in the one of La Navarrería (16) of Pamplona, they were also present in the coat of arms of Navarre in its initial shape. The current coat of arms is just an evolution of this Vascon symbol. Since pre-Roman times, the Vascon crescent and the star are represented together and often in the way that is shown in the adjacent image that is believed to represent the conjunction of the moon and Venus (called Artizar in Basque language). The coat of arms of Navarre could therefore be and evolution of the symbol of the planet Venus.

(16) Navarrería: the name comes from the medieval Basque term 'nabar' (navarrese) and the suffix of Latin origin '-eria', which means 'a group of'' that is usual in the Basque derivation: gazteria (youth), gizateria (humanity), tresneria (tools)..., so that the Basque term 'nabarreria' means 'a group of Navarreses'.

It should be remembered that in the Middle Ages, the word 'Navarrese' was used in two ways: with an ethnical meaning (a Basque-speaker) and with a political meaning (a Vascon that is independent from the Frankish or Asturian power). The majority of the population of Aragonese Latin speech belatedly joined the kingdom, when the Basques of central and northern Navarre extended the reconquest towards the plain lands of the Ebro riverbank that were ruled by the Muslims until then. Those territories were also inhabited by Basque-speakers, according to the records of Tudela (14th century) and other cities of the Riverbank, in which people with Arabian name and Basque nickname appear. Tudela, the main city of the Navarrese Riverbank, was not part of Navarre until 1119, when the Navarrese kingdom had already fallen into decline. For example, the surname Navarro was originally a Romance nickname that referred to the Basque speaking condition of the person who had it.

In 1587, seventy five years after the Castilian conquest, the Spanish language only covered a third of the Navarrese territory, after having gradually replaced the Aragonese language, spoken in the Navarrese Riverbank, since the 13rd century. Euskara still was the colloquial language in Pamplona in the 18th century and therefore, it is logical that in the Middle Ages, the Navarrese condition was linked to the Basque status since the Latin condition was not part of the Navarrese world until the Navarrese Basque-speakers extended the reconquest to south.

Initial shape of the coat of arms of NavarreThe consideration of the Latin condition as a Navarrese feature would not arrive until the domination of Navarre by the French dynasties of the 14th century, when the Navarrese Riverbank became the economic driver of the kingdom, a process that started during the previous century. This situation involved that the mainstream language of the area, the Aragonese language (Euskara was the second one in the ranking), achieved the official status in 1350 and replaced Latin on the drafting of the court documents. However, this official recognition was brief as Castilian absorbed the Aragonese language, due to the political, economical and therefore, cultural power of Castile at the end of the 14th century and beginning of the 15th century and this way, Castilian became the official language on documents drafting. The current cultural situation of Navarre, in which Euskara is daily spoken by only 10% of the population and another 10% understands it, is the result of the Spanish domination of Navarre for five centuries, which has meant the gradual disappearance of the Navarrese culture and identity.

The Navarrese kings settled inhabitants of Le Midi (Southern France) close to the Way of Saint James (Gascons and Occitans for the most part) in order to develop trading and new productions. This new situation will cause that the areas that will be inhabited by the natives of Basque speech, in the old town of the main Navarrese cities of the time like Iruña (Pamplona), Gares (Puente la Reina), Lizarra (Estella) and so on, will begin to receive the name of Navarrería.

During the Middle Ages, the city of Pamplona will grow and include a huge population of different origins. This would lead to a conscious separation of its inhabitants according to their origin and social status into three neighbourhoods: the Navarrería (populated by Navarrese farmers with the Cathedral as its core), San Cernín (inhabited by merchants of Occitan origin that were located around the church of Saint Saturnine) and San Nicolás (a mixture of both populations with the church of Saint Nicholas as its main place).

The Vascon star on the ceiling of the Cathedral of Pamplona. This cathedral was the core of the neighbourhood called the Navarrería, as well as its fortressThe differences between the populations will grow over time in such a way that they will come into conflict, what will cause the building of walls in each of the neighbourhoods (three internal walls inside a fortified city), where the churches will also be used as fortress.

In 1189, the king Sancho VI, called the Wise, granted the Navarrería of Pamplona the privilege of the burghers of Saint Saturnine: ... ut illam partem Pampilonensis civitatis que Navarreria dicitur et depopulata erat ualde, facerent populari ... The difference between natives and Occitans, as well as their separation, as a useful measure established to maintain order, caused fights repeatedly, true civil wars like the one that happened in Pamplona in 1276, after many years of turbulence since the natives considered excessive the privileges of the foreign population.

The Vascon star in the coat of arms of the locality of Estella (Navarre)There were some agreements between the Navarrería and the Occitan burghs of San Cernín and San Nicolás like the one of 1212, although fights would return some time later until the war arrived, as described in Occitan language by a poet of Toulouse called Guilhem Anelier, in a hostile way towards the Navarreses. According to him, the ones that unleashed the war of 1276 were the inhabitants of the old 'civitas' (city), the members of the native local aristocracy with their servants, some burgh officers and the artisans, with whom the Jewish population allied as well.

Burgues é menestrals, sirventz et ynfançó
En la Navarreria malvatz conseyll fero
Que talassen las vinnas, li arbre e l'plançó

[ Burghers and artisans, servants and nobles in the Navarrería, they gave bad advise to cut down the grapevines, the trees and their shoots ].

So, they came to the burgh of San Cernín, destroying everything and killing many Occitans. After this, revenge was taken. French troops entered the Navarrería, which was betrayed, in part, by the Navarrese nobles and clergy, and destroyed it, slaughtering many people, especially  the Jews. It took some years to calculate the damages that were caused at that time to the ecclesiastical sector, the cathedral, ... We may think that the main cause of the future wars between the Beaumonteses and the Agramonteses, which will lead to the inclusion of the Navarrese crown in Castile, is already found in this war, mainly of ethnic profile. The Navarrería remained destroyed since 1277 to 1323 since the kings prohibited to rebuild it during forty eight years. This shows that the attitude of the kings of Navarre, of French origin, was in favour of the Occitans, what should have upset the native population. There followed times in which attempts to remove the old divisions were made, and Charles III ordered in 1423 to pull down the walls that had been built between the neighbourhoods.

The Vascones seemed to be the main 'hit force' of the Basque-Aquitanian army on all occasions. Its military capability was the use of an efficient cavalry that was able to act with fast surrounding movements, what granted them a superiority over the Merovingian infantry. The Frankish chronicles tell us about a great number of Vascon garrisons and fortifications along the Loire and north of France that defended the Basque-Aquitanian territories from the Frankish attacks.

However, another threat was unfolding. Three quarters of the Iberian peninsula had already been conquered by Arabian hordes, who were ready to cross the Pyrenees. In 720, they went through Le Perthus and attacked Toulouse. In an attempt to preserve his domains, Odo married his daughter to Uthman Ibn Naissa, the governor of northern Spain. At the same time, Abd al-Rahman crossed the pass of Roncesvalles to invade the north of Vasconia, once he got ride of Ibn Naissa. It was a terrible massacre. That is how the city of Auch was sacked and Elusa, the capital of Vasconia, was again destroyed. Then, the Arabs marched into Tours, the capital of the Basque-Aquitanian duchy. In 732, Charles Martel, who arrived to help Odo, halted the Arabian army at Poitiers and forced them to return to the Pyrenean passes. His intervention resulted in receiving the tribute of the Basque-Aquitanian duke.

The arrival of the Islam to Europe will coincide with the emergence of two new dynasties in the old Gaul, which will confront for the political supremacy. On the one hand, the Basque-Aquitanian dynasty with Odo, Hunald I, Wafarius and Hunald II and on the other, the Carolingian dynasty of Charles Martel, Pepin the Short and Charlemagne. The son of Charles Martel, Pepin the Short, would be the king that in a systematic campaign, which went on for almost nine long years (760-768), would bend the Basque-Aquitanians. During those years of confrontation between Franks and Basque-Aquitanians, the Basques played a leading role as allies of the Romani Aquitanians although their decisions did not always converge, as in the case that the Aquitanian politics were against the Vascon interests.

Shortly after the victory of Pepin, son of Charles Martel, Aquitaine will rise up again with Hunald II (769). As he was chased by the army of Charlemagne, the Aquitanian rebel will look for a shelter among the Vascones. Like his father Pepin, Charlemagne would not dare to cross the Garonne and, while the fortress of Franciacum was being built to north of this river, he demanded the return of the rebels. The Vascones, with Lupo as Wasconum dux and even princeps Wasconum (according to written sources) handed Hunald and his family over to Charlemagne. After this, the Carolingian king returned to France.

Charlemagne in his court

From 769 to 781, the alliance with the Romani Aquitanians was already broken and the Vascones, who became independent from the Frankish government again, will reorganize their troops to ensure the defence of the Vascon territories under the leadership of dux Lupo.

The Vascon domains of that period extended to north up to the Garonne; southwards up to the north of the peninsular Navarre (the southern area was under Arabian control); to southeast up to the Aran Valley while in the southwest territory the Asturians, heirs of the Visigothic realm, had succeeded in conquering the Encartaciones of Biscay up to the Nervión river and the northwest corner of Alava, while the southern half of the current Euskadi and most of Álava were under Muslim control. However, the new threat for Vasconia would not hit the north nor the southwest of the duchy, but would raze the southeastern territory.

The Frankish army of Charlemagne, under the command of the great paladin Roland, could not conquer the city of Zaragoza in 778 that had been occupied by the Arabs and, on their way back, they destroyed Pamplona. On 15 August 778, when the Frankish troops were ready to cross the Pyrenees to return to France, the Vascon forces were waiting at Orreaga (Pass of Roncesvalles, Navarre) to ambush them in revenge for the destruction of Pamplona. By means of their cavalry and the rocks that were thrown from the surrounding mountains towards the Frankish army that was crossing the path, the Vascones slaughtered them. The death of Roland in the battle and the defeat of the Carolingian imperial army (the most powerful army of Europe at the time) inspired 'La Chanson the Roland' (The Song of Roland) in 1090, which is considered the most outstanding work of the French epic literature.

The defeat at the Pass of Roncesvalles should persuade Charlemagne of the need of seeking a political frame for Aquitaine and Vasconia that could recognize again their strong specificity. Therefore, an old living tradition of the Franks since the Merovingian period was recovered. Charlemagne created a realm for his son Louis (Louis the Pious) and made him king in Rome in 781, when Louis was only three years old. Later in 785, he introduced his son, who was dressed in Basque clothes, to the assembly of Padeborn. The prestige of the Basques, the winners of Roncesvalles seven years ago, should have greatly increased when the first son of the Carolingian monarchy was introduced to the Court dressed with those garments. The aim of Charlemagne, with no doubt, was to flatter his most belligerent subjects and at the same time, to pave the way for Louis to his new realm, the Kingdom of Aquitaine. This territory, which was entirely under the authority of Charlemagne, extended from the Loire to Languedoc and had two capitals, Bordeaux and Toulouse. Therefore, he wanted to include the Duchy of Vasconia that had remained independent from the Frankish power since Hunald II and his family were handed over to Charlemagne by Lupo, the Vascon dux. Thus, there was a bastion to which it would be difficult to bring order, the Pyrenees, so that Charlemagne had to send his army.

Memorial of the Battle of RoncesvallesAs a result of the continuous uprisings of the Vascones, Charlemagne forged an alliance with the king of Asturias in the hope of dominating the Vascones, but the Asturian king had other pressing and threatening issues to deal with: the Muslims that were settled to south. Charlemagne had delegated the administration of Vasconia to the dukes, as the case of Adalric at Fezensac. In spite of the effort made by the Church, which preached the integration into the Frankish kingdom, the revolts continued in Vasconia. Meanwhile, Aquitaine was integrated into the kingdom and Catalonia, as well as Languedoc, participated actively in reconquering the southern territories under the Emir of Cordoba.

In the year 800, just when Charlemagne returned from being crowned as emperor, the Vascones rose up once more. Then, Sancho appeared on the scene, sent by Charlemagne and the King of Aquitaine. Sancho was the son of the Vascon duke Lupo, who had died thirty years ago.

Íñigo Arista, who took advantage of the lack of control over the territory of Pamplona by the Frankish, founded the Lordship of Pamplona in 824, in cooperation with the islamised Vascones from the Ebro Riverbank. This territory would later become a kingdom and it will end up including the Basques from both sides of the Pyrenees in the 11th century.

Since the 9th century, Euskal Herria (Vasconia) will split into two different political entities: Northern Vasconia (the continental territory, which will be known as Gascony in the future) and Southern Vasconia (the peninsular territory, which will be represented by Pamplona).

The Carolingian Empire. Click on the map to enlargeIn the old Novempopulania, the northern Vascones were grouped around Sancho and later, they would follow his eldest son, Aznar, until he was murdered in 836 by Pepin I of Aquitaine. That year, Sancho II Mitarra (Menditarra, 'the highlander') succeeded his brother Aznar and took control of the government of northern Vasconia (Gascony). Sancho Menditarra had spent his youth fighting the Emir of Cordoba in southern Vasconia, together with his father and the army of Pamplona. His military and political skills led him to victory over Pepin, who had declared war against him. Pepin's troops were repelled at the right side of the river Garonne in 838, the year in which Pepin died. This victory took place 68 years after Charlemagne's abuse of authority and allowed northern Vasconia to recover its former continental borders.

The Frankish king Louis the Pious, who had to face many problems, recognised Sancho Menditarra as head of the government of northern Vasconia. When Louis died, the empire was divided between his three sons, of whom Charles the Bald received the western territory and mainly the Kingdom of Aquitaine. Pepin II, who was initially stripped of his throne of Aquitaine, arranged the reconquest that was brought to a successful conclusion thanks to the difficulties experienced by Charles (the disputes with his brothers and the first Norman incursions). Then, Pepin II was preparing to enter the lands of the northern Vascones in the year 852. However, the expedition went wrong as he was captured by Sancho Menditarra, who handed him over to Charles the Bald. It was at this time that the Duchy of Vasconia appeared officially in the texts (852) and how Sancho Menditarra was the first duke, according to those writings.

Since the year 840, the Normans arrived in the Atlantic coasts. Every year, they navigated the rivers upstream to sack the country (Toulouse was sacked and burned in 844). They looted everywhere, especially churches and monasteries, and demanded heavy taxes of the population. The cities of Condom, Éauze and Lectoure were the most affected among their first victims. It is at this point (around the year 854) when the Church moved its see of Elusa, capital of northern Vasconia, to the city of Auch that was less exposed to the raids, as it was built over a steep and fortified village. This was also the place where Sancho Menditarra lived when he did not have to fight his eternal enemy on the other side of the Pyrenees, the Emir of Cordoba and his allies.

Stained-glass window of the Collegiate Church of Roncesvalles, where the battle that took place in 778 is describedSancho Menditarra died in 864. The northern Vasconia had become the empire's wall against the Arab realms of the Iberian peninsula. Duke Arnold, who was the nephew of Sancho, seized power at that time because Sancho's son was still very young. The northern Vasconia went through an almost anarchical situation, mainly due to the Norman invasions that had been resumed. Most of the bishoprics and monasteries were deserted and the population from cities and villages fled to the countryside. The local chiefs could hardly maintain an appearance of order and protection. The feudal system, with its lords and fortified castles, was being established. According to the Vascon traditions, the power was transferred at the right time to the son of Sancho Menditarra, who was called Menditarra (Mitarra) Sancho, and that had the same warrior profile as his father. He was the one that succeeded in restraining the Normans on the coast, at the mouth of the river Adour, throughout his rule (871-886).

García II Sánchez, called the Bent, succeeded his father Menditarra Sancho from 886 to 920. The territory of northern Vasconia had been enlarged by marriage with the county of Agen. Unfortunately, Garcia Sánchez decided to divide the lands between his three sons before his death. The eldest of them, Sancho García (Sancho IV Garcés du Laux), received most of the principality (the whole western area, from Béarn to La Lomagne), which became Vasconia Major (Great Vasconia). The second son, William García (William Garcés of Fézensac) received the central area with Fézensac, between Éauze and Auch. Finally, Arnold García (Arnorld I of Astarac) received the territory of Astarac, between Fezensac and Bigorre. This unfortunate division led gradually to a fragmentation of the northern Vasconia. The already broken princely filiation entailed a new authority system that was imported from the Frankish model, that is to say, the relationship of vassalage that was unknown in Vasconia until then: the feudalism.

Partition of the Duchy of Vasconia in 920. Click on the map to enlargeSancho García (Sancho IV Garcés) had four children: Sancho Sanchez, William Sanchez, Gombald and Ulderich or Odulric. The son that succeeded him, was Sancho Sanchez (also García Sancho, according to some sources), who became Sancho V Sanchez du Laux. As he died without descendants, the Principality was left to his brother William II Sanchez. At that time, William went off to fight in Navarre and delegated the power to his brother Gombald, then Archbishop of Bordeaux. In the 10th century, the pirates marched on northern France, which was the most accessible area, to undertake the most devastating razzias. When William returned, the Normans showed a threatening behaviour again, so he decided to stop them once and for all at Taller, near Castets (about twenty kilometres north of Dax) in 982. The Normans, defeated, broke camp and they never returned to Vasconia.

The County of Armagnac, settled in 965, belonged to Bernard after the death of his father William García (William Garcés of Fézensac). On the other hand, Pardiac became the inheritance of another Bernard; in this case, the son of Arnold García (Arnold I of Astarac). There also arose the County of Gaure and the Viscounty of Lomagne. The Duchy of northern Vasconia or Gascony had already become a county. The atomization of the Gascon territory continued with the following generations and reached a point in which the last Count no longer had power. However, Gascony continued its organization under the aegis of the ecclesiastical and feudal power. There were created four bishoprics and more than four hundred churches were already built at the down of the 11th century.

By the year 1023, Gascony is already under the Kingdom of Pamplona-Nájera, after the support that was given to the Count of Gascony in his fight against the County of Toulouse. This support granted the king of Pamplona-Nájera, Sancho Garcés III, called the Great, the authority to rule part of the Gascon territories. As a result of this administration, there will arise the Viscounty of Labourd. When Sancho VI William, who was the son of William II Sánchez (the vanquisher of the Normans), died without a successor in 1032, the government of Gascony was left to his nephew, Sancho the Great of Navarre. After the death of the Navarrese king, the disputes for power between his sons weakened the Kingdom of Pamplona-Nájera, what led to the loss of control upon Gascony.

The marriage of Briska (sister of Sancho VI William) to William V (Count of Poitiers and Duke of Aquitaine) was the origin of a succession conflict that will last until 1052. One of the main pretenders, Bernard II Tumapaler, Count of Armagnac, lost his inheritance at the hands of the youngest son of William, Guy Geoffrey, who became Duke of Aquitaine in 1058.

Coat of arms of GasconyThe dukes of Poitou ruled Gascony for nearly a century, making the maximum effort in reducing their vassals to obedience. At the time of the Crusades, many Gascon nobles took part in Palestine, especially with the 3rd army of the Count of Toulouse. Together with the eminent Gaston IV of Béarn, there were several crusaders that shone during the first Crusade: Raymond de l'Isle-Jourdain and Astanove II, Count of Fezensac.

Most of the different counties and viscountcies of Gascony became diluted in the Duchy of Aquitaine (the rest of the territories stayed united or under Navarre). Later in 1154, this duchy became part of the English Kingdom by means of the marriage between Henry Plantagenet of England and Eleanor of Aquitaine. In 1453, Aquitaine was integrated into France.

With respect to the Gascon territories of Navarre, the kingdom kept the Béarn until it disappeared in the 17th century, when Louis XIII, king of Navarre and France, included Navarre into the French Crown through an edict of union in 1620.

 

 

 

 

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The History of the Basque Country continues on the following page >> The Arabs and the Kingdom of Pamplona